COMMERCIAL DESCRIPTIONWeíre brewers whose substantial mettle and idiomatic approach to brewing allows us to consistently create works of art such as this justifiably self righteous ale. Its bitterness hits our sweet spot. Its blackness lightens our hearts. Its liquid dichotomy pulls it all together in this sublimely sacrosanct ale. Yes, we damn well know our stuff here at Stone, and it would be irresponsible of us not to acknowledge how remarkable this heavenly creation of ours is. Thus the name we are compelled to give it ... Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale ... serves as a reminder of just how good we are, in both liquid and verbal form.
We re certainly not perfect. Too often, we allow our modesty to get the best of us as we re simply not inclined towards senseless braggadocio. When youre good, youre good. And when you do something great, the least you can do is acknowledge it. Others benefit from knowing. In this case, we find that we are compelled to point out how amazing this beer is that we rightly call the Stone Sublimely Self Righteous Ale.

First brewed in 2007 as Stone 11th Anniversary Ale, this beer was an instant hit. With us. Other folks with great taste loved it too, but we were focused on how much we liked it, and we felt it was truly sublime. That euphoria didnt last long though, as it was soon replaced with the grim reality that when we sold out of it there wouldnt be any more. For Us. And that was simply unacceptable. So, we are now blessing ourselves, and you the enlightened, with this beer on a full time basis.. Thusly, you may now revel in your own self righteousness as you see fit with this glorious example of ours. You are genuinely welcome, as it is our pleasure.

This is a very interesting mix. The best way to describe it is as a chocolate IPA. Not surprisingly it gets labeled as one of the catch all titles. There are also some light fruit notes. Probably could have been better if it was a little heavier on the chocolate, but that is just me.

22oz bottle. Nearly black body with a big, creamy tan head. Aroma has chocolate and hops, but not as hoppy as i imagine it was fresh. Clean roasty malts, sweet caramel, mocha, and substantial and bitter hops in the flavor; pretty floral with some pine and grapefruit. Clean porter flavors mixing with IPA; pretty chocolatey really. medium-full body with nice soft carbonation. Iím digging the combo of darker hops and chocolate flavor with IPA style hoppiness. The hops seem a little subdued, and I wish that I had tried this when it came out, but still very good.

From growler filled at the brewrey on 2-23-08. I know this beer is about 8 months old now, and some of the hop bitterness, flavor and aroma has dropped out, but this is still a fantastic beer. Itís a dark brown color with some red tones in there. Aroma has piney citrus hops along with some caramel maltiness that wasnít there when this beer was fresh. Flavors are sweet, with still enough of a bitter kick to balance. Reminds me of Arrogant Bastard, but with a little roasted, chocolate character. Still a great Stone beer. How much it holds up over more time is anybodyís guess.

UPDATED: FEB 1, 2009 as 11th anniversary: like a more complex IPA for its hop and citrus elements as well as an odd porter because of its maltiness--an interesting beer; strong hoppy aroma; interesting, and good, but not something i would care too much to have again... as sublimely self-righteous: the nose fools me into thinking what it might look like--the aroma is bright, hoppy, sugary, and somewhat roasted; the flavor is like an over-hopped porter; but it is good (uprated).

22oz bottle. Pours a very thick, dark brown color that you canít see through when held up to the light. Minimal head that turns to some white lacing at the top of the glass. Smells of hops and malts with lesser notes of chocolalte, coffee and alcohol. Very full-flavored beer with a thick mouthfeel. Tastes of hops, sweet and roasted malts and coffee, finishes with dry, tart hop bitterness. It smells much hoppier than it tastes, the malts balance them out pretty well on the palate, which is good for me as Iím not a huge fan of hop-dominated beer, although I canít say Iíd go out of my way to pick this up. Definitely a quality crafted beer that Iíd recommend to fans of IPA style beers.

So, here I sit on a Friday night rating beers Iíve tried. Some people go out and go bowling, some go to the bars and some loaf around writing shit about the beers theyíve tried.

Anyway, this is some tasty tasty ale. Pours dark, bites hard and tickles your innards with the tingling of hops. Good anniversary offering and I can still find it on the shelves, so itís been a tough run on the liver.

Pours a very dark brown (almost black) with little to no head. I could smell the hops as the beer was coming out of the bottle. I expected it to be overly hoppy, but it was very well balanced between the malts and hops.

22oz bottle purchased for $6 from Bauer Wines in Boston. Pours a dark brown with little head but decent lacing. Hoppy aroma. Flavour is nicely hoppy with some lasting bitterness. Well balanced with a decent malt backbone. However, not all that different from a "normal" IPA. Good, but not extraordinary.

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